1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a band clip, and specifically reduces the height of a body portion that binds and fixes a band that is wrapped around a group of electric wires of a wire harness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various shapes of resin-molded band clips have conventionally been used to bind groups of electric wires of wire harnesses that are arranged in automobiles and the like, and to fix the wire harnesses to a vehicle body. A conventional band clip 1 includes, as shown in FIGS. 6(A) to 6(C) for example, a box-shaped body 2 for the insertion and locking of a band 5 that is wrapped around a group of electric wires D of a wire harness, the band 5 that extends out from the body 2, and a clip 6 that protrudes out from the outer face of the body 2 and is inserted into and locked to a panel hole in a vehicle body panel. An insertion hole 3 for insertion of the band 5 is provided in the body 2, a tongue (elastic piece) 4 is provided as a protrusion inside the insertion hole 3, and the tongue 4 is provided with locking claws 4a for engaging with a saw-tooth-shaped locked portion 5a provided on the surface of the band 5 when it is inserted (see JP 2002-320317A).
With the band clip 1 configured as described above, the group of electric wires D can be bound with the band 5 by wrapping the band 5 around the group of electric wires D and inserting it into and pulling it through the insertion hole 3 of the body 2 as shown in FIG. 6(B), and then engaging the locked portion 5a of the band 5 with the locking claws 4a of the tongue 4 at a band fastening position as shown in FIG. 6(C).
However, a height H of the box-shaped body 2 of the band clip 1 readily rises since the insertion hole 3 that includes the tongue 4 for lock binding needs to be provided between an upper wall 2a and a lower wall 2b that have a predetermined thickness. As the height H of the body 2 rises, the amount of space where the wire harness is arranged decreases, and there are cases where stability deteriorates due to a rise in the height of the barycentric position of the wire harness fixed to the vehicle body. In addition to the lower wall 2b out from which the clip 6 protrudes, the body 2 also needs to be provided with the upper wall 2a and side walls 2c for forming the insertion hole 3, and these walls 2a and 2c create the problem of an increase in weight and an increase in manufacturing cost.
A problem addressed by the present invention is the provision of a band clip that can reduce the height of the body for binding and fixing a band wrapped around a group of electric wires of a wire harness, and can suppress weight and manufacturing cost.